Citizens Against Prescription Drug Advertising (CAPDA)

In 1987, under the banner of deregulated free markets holding sway during the Reagan/Bush years, Congress lifted the restriction on pharmaceutical companies to advertise on television and radio. Since that time the Nation’s drug suppliers have spent amounts approaching (or exceeding) $200 billion on “direct to consumer” advertising of prescription drugs (Rx). In 2005 the annual outlay was $29.9 billion (see New England Journal of Medicine ). I suspect the 2008 expenditure will greatly exceed that. There has been little controversy to this practice, surfacing from time to time, but mostly there has been a passive acceptance. The affect of advertising is normally positive in a free market, even necessary, but it is also potentially insidious. We view advertising submissively, rarely thinking about it. Its very purpose is to create recall only at that the time of or decision to purchase. The limited debate over Rx advertising has mostly focused on the effect advertising has had on the d